It was getting weirder and weirder.
This manor, this world.
The butler’s fragile sanity had wavered as the old Count’s horrific shadow and Angus’s grinning face floated through his mind.
His instincts told him he could think no further, but he couldn’t help sweeping his gaze over the damp, moldy traces on the corridor walls.
Not knowing what he had found, the world in his eyes became a strange place, his face became paler and paler, and he began to hobble, as if he were already on his last legs.
Seeing the butler’s strange appearance, the nearby maids were full of dismay, they didn’t dare to go forward to ask what happened.
The butler didn’t feel better until he walked out of the castle.
He stayed near the flower garden of the manor, and didn’t dare to look back at the castle behind him for a long time, as if there was something incomparably horrible hidden there.
Just as the butler fell into an inexplicable trance, a sneaky call suddenly came from behind him: “Uncle Butler!”
The butler turned his head and realized that it was Miss Julie whom he had not seen for a long time.
Since the discovery of Julie and Reid’s affair, Julie had been locked up, and the butler hadn’t seen her for a long time.
Julie was as beautiful as ever, with long brown hair and green eyes that made her look so innocent.
She looked around and was relieved to find that there were no servants around, and came out from behind the shade of a tree, excitedly telling the butler how she had managed to escape to this place.
She had been locked up in a small house in the remote part of the manor, although the servants didn’t make things difficult for her, and she could even sneak out of the house.
But due to the old count’s authority, the servants didn’t dare to let Julie run to the castle, after all, if they attracted the old count’s attention, they would be the ones to suffer.
So Julie never got to see the butler, and now she really missed this kind uncle.
The butler used to treat her as his granddaughter, and felt sorry when Julie was forced to marry the old count.
Therefore, he helped Julie and Reid to meet secretly a few times, and Julie remembered all this.
She was very grateful to the housekeeper’s help, and determined to repay these good people who had helped her.
But today she came to see the butler not because of this, but because of something more important.
“Uncle butler, I heard that the old count has become younger is that right?”
Julie frowned and asked somewhat eagerly, “Do you know what’s going on?”
The butler looked at Miss Julie in front of him with a numb expression, and in the face of this still beautiful and moving face, the mind that was suppressed by fear seemed to have eased a little.
But Julie’s question made it somewhat difficult for him to answer.
It was as if he recalled something ghastly, and an uncontrollable fear appeared on his ghastly white face, which made him look at Julie faintly, and then he became more anxious.
“Is it possible that the old count really did something horrible?”
Julie’s heart clenched as she remembered what her lover Reid had said to her.
The matter of the old count returning to his youth had only recently reached her ears.
After being locked up in the first place because of the affair with Reid, who was the old Count’s heir, the old count had only come once.
After she had vented all the anger and disgust in her heart and angrily cursed the old ugliness and disgust, the old count never came again as if he had forgotten her.
Julie was happy to be at home, after all, she could still sneak out of the manor from time to time to see her lover, Reid, she did not care about this gloomy and unpleasant character of the old count.
She even wanted to just run away with Reid, but Reid refused, saying that he couldn’t afford to give her a better living situation for the time being, and that they would have to take things slow.
Although Julie didn’t quite understand, she listened to her lover.
Coupled with the fact that her family had already severed ties with their scandalous daughter, she had nowhere else to go, so she simply stayed at the manor.
And just recently, the old count returned to his youth caused her lover, Reid, to become a bit agitated.
He told her that the old count must have studied witchcraft in private and made a deal with the devil to become young.
“The information I found out is that the old count is bathing in blood, and recently many teenage girls have disappeared in the territory ……” Reid said with a solemn expression, and his tightly furrowed brow made Julie’s heart ache.
She knew what a good and compassionate man her lover was, and he must be grieving for those missing innocent children.
So when Reid requested her to enter the manor to search for evidence, Julie agreed without hesitation, for the sake of her lover and for the sake of those missing children, she had to find out the truth about the old count returning to his old age.
That the hereditary disease was cured, Julie simply didn’t believe it.
For that old count who had a gloomy face all day long, Julie never minded speculating about him with the greatest malice.
“Uncle Butler, this is how it is, you must help me, tell me, what exactly did the old count do?”
Julie’s face was pleading, while the butler looked at Julie’s clear green eyes and hesitated for a long time, out of fear, he still didn’t say anything.
But in the midst of Julie’s continuous pleas, he finally took out a cowhide book that he was carrying with him and handed it to Julie.
The butler actually didn’t know the exact cause of these changes in the manor, he only knew that the old count was the source of the terror, and Angus beside him was also a part of this endless terror.
“Leave this place after you’ve seen it, and don’t come back.”
The butler’s voice trembled as he instructed, he didn’t want Julie to explore the truth of those horrors, but perhaps it was the depressing life he had been living lately that made the butler want to confide in these unusual changes in the manor that only he had noticed.
He gave Julie his journal.
In it were recorded the changes that had taken place in the old count over the period of time, those frightening changes.
Julie took the journal, a little bewildered, but the butler didn’t explain much, he got up and stumbled away at a staggering pace, it was already work time and time to go back to the castle.
The butler didn’t dare to anger the old count, he looked at the castle not far away, which was beyond horrible in his own eyes, and wanted to run away, but his brain, filled with fear, no longer had the courage to run away.
A terrible sense of oppression made him feel that he might be useless to escape anywhere, honestly staying here might still have a chance of survival.
As long as he didn’t anger the dreadful old Count.
The butler thought uncertainly, and soon returned to the castle.
Behind him, Julie also opened the journal in her hand, the front of it was all about mundane everyday things, about the fussy old count reprimanding the servants.
Until she continued to flip down, Julie finally flipped to the content of interest.
[The old count has become a bit strange today, he seems to be looking in the mirror, but he clearly hated mirrors before.]
[Ever since Miss Julie insulted him, the old count’s character has become more and more distorted, even in broad daylight the room is not allowed to let in half a bit of light, I know he is afraid of others seeing his face.
He probably still can’t accept his old age, alas.]
[…… He began to look at the sapphire at his cufflinks and gawked at it, as if he saw the sapphire as something else, with a strange expression.
Forget it, I can’t read the old earl’s mind, his temper has been getting weirder and weirder lately, I hope I don’t piss him off.]
[The old Count’s hands have many more tiny scars, like they were cut by scissors, and many pieces of paper that have been cut up have appeared in the waste basket cleaned out by the servants, could it be that the old count is making some kind of strange papercrafts?]
[…… If I’m not mistaken, is the old count smiling? It’s horrible, it’s the most horrible thing I can imagine.]
[The old count’s favoritism towards Angus can no longer be hidden, completely falling in love.
Obsessed like a young man overwhelmed by love.
I even started to think that the old count might be able to give everything he has in order to get Angus.
No, it’s probably just an illusion, would a cold-hearted person like the old count, an old-school nobleman who is even more rigid than the oldest of the old nobles, really be so in love with a young man?
It should be only a slight infatuation for a young skin, pity the beautiful young man ……]
[…… He ordered me to spread the word about all these psychic rituals, especially to the candidates, except Angus.]
Angus?
Julie saw a familiar name, which she often heard from the maids who passed by the room during this period of time, and seemed to be an extremely beautiful young man, imprisoned in the manor by the old count as she was at first.
Probably a very poor man as well.
Julie thought regretfully, deciding to rescue this poor youth once she found the evidence to defeat the old count.
Julie turned over the journal in her hand again, a small turn but very thick, she couldn’t finish it in a moment, she could only have a general look at it.
There were no clues about those missing teenagers and girls, and the one that attracted the most suspicion was the psychic ritual that the old count ordered the butler to spread out.
Julie decided to take a look at the candidates’ rooms tonight, maybe she could find more detailed clues, and as soon as she said that she would do it, Julie quickly found a good spot to sneak in for the night, and hid outside the castle, only waiting for the night to fall to go in and find out what was going on.
And after the butler left at a quick pace, as if he sensed something, Jiu Shu glanced at the butler’s back, then pulled his gaze back and continued to lean into the arms of the object of his discipline.
Norman looked at Jiu Shu, who was clinging to his arm, and was clearly content, so happy that even the shadows reflected on the wall behind him became much more peaceful, no longer expanding with their teeth and claws.
“I wanted to take a nap in your room today.”
Jiu Shu squinted his pretty blue eyes, a rare warm sunshine outside the hallway shining on him a little lazily, and hung on to Norman with his whole body.
After all this time of always cuddling together and finding a random room to sleep in together, Jiu Shu wanted a change of scenery today.
Norman held Jiu Shu carefully in his arms and kissed his cheeks mesmerizingly with a warm smile, “Okay, then go rest in my room.”
Norman never refused any of Jiu Shu’s requests, and he brought the love of his life in his arms to his room, which had been cleaned by the servants in a clean and tidy manner.
The spacious and bright room was filled with the faint scent of incense that was currently popular among the upper class, masking the dampness of the room.
The traces of mold and mildew on the walls seemed to have been cleaned by the servants as well, or perhaps it was just that the old count had not gone back recently, so it had become much lighter.
With his eyes lightly sweeping over everything in the room, Jiu Shu got down from Norman’s firm embrace and walked over to the room’s table, looking at the thick pile of unprocessed official documents with a thoughtful expression.
After all, the object of discipline was a count who ruled over a large territory and had many assets under his name, even though he was not very career-oriented, he still needed to deal with many official documents every day.
And these days, the object of discipline who was thoroughly addicted to love seemed to have really left these official documents behind, which gave Jiu Shu a sense of disorientation that he had become the country’s siren, compelling the king not to have an early morning court.
His white fingertips gently touched those gorgeous words on the official documents, his back was turned so Norman couldn’t see his expression, he could only hear a soft voice mixed with laughter, “Norman’s writing is very beautiful–”
Norman stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Jiu Shu, softly thanking him, “Thank you, your handwriting is also very beautiful.” He was never stingy in praising his beautiful lover.
In his eyes, every part of Jiu Shu was perfect and flawless, and he could say the same words of praise for a day without getting tired of them.
But Jiu Shu’s next words left Norman at a bit of a loss as to how to respond.
“–But it feels familiar, it’s very similar to a pen pal I had before.”
“…… Is it.” There seemed to be something strange in Norman’s magnetic voice, and his arm holding Jiu Shu tightened slightly.
Jiu Shu looked up with considerable interest at the somewhat averted eyes of the object of discipline, a mischievous smile in his clear azure pupils.
“Yes, his writing is not bad, of course I prefer yours, who let him always say bad things about you before.
I was still angry at that time, but then I felt a bit sorry after gradually not contacting him, after all, he doesn’t know you, I can explain to him, there was no need to break contact.”
In fact, the main reason for breaking off was still after the relationship was established, the object of discipline stuck with him day and night, and the correspondence interaction naturally broke off.
“…… That’s indeed a pity.” Norman’s voice was deep and seemed to be genuinely expressing regret, but his gaze avoided Jiu Shu’s clean, beautiful blue eyes, guilt kept him from looking directly at him.
“Maybe you guys could find a way to get back together.”
“Won’t you be jealous?” He asked in mock confusion, and Norman stiffened for a moment.
Finally maintaining the composure of an older man, he warmly explained, “I don’t mind if it’s just a pen pal, and I’m not going to interfere with your personal freedom as long as you want.”
“You’re still young, you should have made more friends.”
“Really? Great, so can I hang out with the candidates?”
“……”
Jiu Shu couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer as he looked at the object of discipline who was suddenly silent and seemed to be racking his brain on how to answer appropriately.
His beautiful deep blue eyes were watery with laughter, and Norman’s eyes froze on his lover’s beautiful smile for a moment before coming back to his senses and wrapping his arms helplessly around his young lover, knowing that he was being teased.
But instead of getting angry, he laughed along with him, his gaze softening to the core as he looked at the man in his arms.
“Sorry, I’m still a little jealous.”
Norman was honest this time about what was going on inside, and after a pause, he wanted to tell the truth that he was the pen pal.
Jiu Shu, on the other hand, no longer cared, he wrapped his arms around Norman’s neck and rubbed it affectionately, his voice warm and soft, “Actually, I just wanted to say to that penpal that Norman, you’re a thousand times better than what he said, you are completely different.”
“I also really want to tell him that he was wrong when he said it and that it wasn’t because I fell in love with Norman -” Jiu Shu stretched his tone, causing Norman’s heart to tense. The tense emotions didn’t completely dissipate until he said the second half of the sentence: “But because I fell in love with Norman, I love him very much.”
The rapid beating of his heart sounded as if it was about to jump out of his chest, Norman’s ears flushed red, even though he had long been used to the bluntness of his young lover, he still couldn’t help but blush over these short words of love.
The unrelieved passion turned into a dense kiss, fervently and indulgently meeting Jiu Shu’s lips and teeth, the ambiguous sound of water clearly audible in the room.
“I love you too, very much, very much.”
Norman’s voice was laced with deep love, and as the action continued, the official papers laid out on the edge of the table were knocked to the floor, the loose papers becoming even more wrinkled in the time that followed.
Until the room returned to complete silence and the sky outside the window had darkened, Jiu Shu’s was still breathing a little unsteadily.
Low gasps leaked from slightly swollen lips that showed the luscious color of roses.
He rested wearily on the large, soft bed, and it was a long time before he opened his eyes, his voice becoming hoarse as his gaze swept over the slightly damp walls.
Jiu Shu thought he should probably abstain from se.x for a few days.
The object of Discipline’s body was probably starting to alienate as well, energized beyond words.
Perhaps he himself hadn’t noticed, but when he was in an emotional state, Jiu Shu occasionally touched damp parts that weren’t human.
The excitement was so much that even he couldn’t focus.
Thinking like this, Jiu Shu glanced at the man beside him who was looking at him with insatiable eyes, and after thinking about it, he suddenly spoke, “Actually, that pen pal is quite good, I really like the paper roses that he made, they’re really pretty, it’s a pity that I haven’t received any more for many days.”
If you have too much energy, just find another way to consume it.
Norman’s dark pupils grew more and more gentle when he heard Jiu Shu’s words, and his voice was warm, “Is it the paper flowers placed in your room?”
“It is indeed beautiful.” Norman couldn’t control the corners of his mouth from rising.
The fact that the love of his life liked the roses that he had made himself made Norman incredibly joyful.
He thought he knew how to confess to his lover.
Maybe by making a thousand roses and sending them to him, and then telling the truth that the pen pal was himself, he would be slightly less angry.
“So, do you think if I write him a letter, he’ll forgive me for not reaching out all this time and keep sending me roses?” Jiu Shu curled his pretty blue eyes and snuggled into Norman’s arms hopefully.
“Definitely, no one will be angry with you.” Norman, seemingly afraid that his lover would feel uncertain about this, replied with immense solemnity.
Norman’s handsome, deep brows looked incredibly serious in the light, and it made Jiu Shu’s smile deepen.
It was so obvious that even a fool could tell something was wrong.
But Norman, who was obsessed with love, seemed to be like those love-brained young people in love, completely losing his usual intelligence, and didn’t realize that he had long ago revealed himself.
He was still thinking about his apology in a few days.
It wasn’t a simple matter to prepare a thousand roses, and perhaps the preparations would begin tonight.
With this in mind, after Jiu Shu had gone to sleep from over exhaustion, Norman quietly got up from his bed and took out the paper roses in the dark compartment of his room.
It had been a while since he had folded any more paper roses, so there were only a scant fifty or so left, and Norman’s brow furrowed slightly as he pursed his lips.
He put these paper roses back, took out the production materials that he had prepared earlier, and walked out of the bedroom room lightly.
When he was halfway there, he hesitated, but turned back and kissed the side of Jiu Shu’s face that was sprawled on the pillow, his gaze soft.
Just a few moments away, his clingy lover shouldn’t notice.
Norman thought a little apologetically, kissing him a few more times before reluctantly letting go and walking out of the bedroom.
After he left, Jiu Shu, who had opened his eyes, touched his cheek, his eyes softening considerably as he laughed out softly.
After walking out of the room, Norman found a study closer to the bedroom and carefully folded paper roses.
The pale and slender fingers seemed bloodless white in the light, forming a strong color contrast with the brightly colored red rose petals.
The pliable branch quickly took shape, and the petals gradually stacked on top of the branch, soft as a real flower as the petals turned slightly with the movement, bright and colorful.
In this dimly lit study, the tall man with a pale face looked at the paper roses that were gradually taking shape in his hands, and his gloomy eyebrows became incredibly gentle, as if he had seen his lover’s expression of surprise when he received the roses, and how could big his smile would be.
However, just as he was about to make the next rose, his pale arm that was exposed to the cuffs of his sleeve tensed violently, his pupils dilated slightly, and there were tiny sounds in his ears.
Sounds that should have been forbidden.
Since regaining his youth, he had also realized that too much was too soon, and had long since banned psychic rituals from the manor, and had ordered his guards to keep a firm eye on the candidates, so the voices that appeared in his ears now shouldn’t have appeared at all.
Moreover, it seemed to be a woman’s voice, Norman listened to the noisy voice in his ears, his brows were tightly locked, and there was some confusion in his dark pupils, and in the next second, a dull pain came from his chest.
Cough-
Crimson blood mixed with black crushed internal organs was spat out by the man, who stared blankly at those writhing crushed internal organs on the carpet, his face nearly dead white.
And at that moment, inside another room of the castle.
Julie looked at the ritual of the formation that was set up in the room, and after chanting as required nothing unusual seemed to happen, which made Julie a little disappointed.
She had thought she would have found something, but who knew that the castle was heavily guarded, and the rooms where the candidates were were guarded, she only found the room of a candidate who had long since left the manor.
Following the requirements of the ritual she found from the room, she laid down the formation, but now she got nothing.
Julie was a bit confused, she thought about it and decided to go directly to the old Count’s room to find out what was going on, if she remembered correctly, the old count went to bed early every night, perhaps he was already asleep now, she’d go and search a bit.
Thinking like this, Julie inevitably felt some fear, after all, the old count had always been her psychological shadow, this terrible gloomy man in Julie’s eyes was comparable to the devil.
“…… “Taking a deep breath, Julie still summoned up the courage.
She thought about her lover Reid’s sorrowful face and persevered, she had to work harder for Reid!
Julie finally followed the route she remembered and carefully walked to the floor where the old count was, the dimly lit corridor was a scene that only appeared in her nightmares, she held her breath and held onto the damp wall as she walked forward, the slippery feeling under her hands made it creepier and creepier.
“Ahem-”
The sound of an agonizing cough made Julie’s entire body stiffen, nearly thinking she’d been discovered, but she realized a few moments later that she wasn’t, just the sound of a man’s voice in suppressed agony coming from one of the rooms.
It seemed to be muffled like he was afraid of being heard, but it was still audible when he got close enough.
Julie walked over and after quietly opening a crack in the door, all she could see was the empty room and thick black blood on the carpet.
As if it was the scene of a murder.
Could this be the place where the old Count hid teenage girls?
Julie plucked up the courage to walk into the room, listening to the sounds deep within the room, her heart beating nervously as she hurriedly observed the ordinary study.
There didn’t seem to be anything special, except for this beautiful rose on the table.
Picking up the rose, Julie gave a troubled look, and before she had time to think much about it, the sound of a man’s heavy footsteps came from within the lavatory; he was coming out.
“!” Julie reacted swiftly and got out through the doorway, quickly escaping from the place, but still subconsciously squeezing the rose in her hand.
And shortly after she left, the tall man with a pale face came back into the room from the washroom, he looked at the empty table, his trembling fingers fumbled on the table for a moment before tightening violently, so hard that the veins on the backs of his pale hands could be clearly seen.
His rose, the rose to give to his lover!
Tick tock–
The corridor seemed to have become even more humid, and Julie hid in the shadows of the hallway, looking at the water stains dripping down the walls with a puzzled expression.
And behind her, there seemed to be a strange rustling in the dimly lit corridor, filling it with a chilling aura.
Julie is sm more annoying to me than Ai Li because she’s spoiled by the absurd standards of this world. At least Ai Li seemed to be more self-aware that she has fragile nerves? Idk how to explain it